$50 For-Credit MOOC Goes Bust — for Now

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 06/20/13

A school-vendor partnership intended to test a new twist on the MOOC went belly-up a day after it was announced. On June 18, Tiffin University, a 7,000-student institution in Tiffin, OH, and Altius Education, which describes itself as "part university, part technology company," said it would be teaming up to deliver "Foundations of Success," a $50 credit-bearing course starting July 1. A day later, the two organizations announced that the deal was off "due to concerns over accreditation."

Tiffin administrators declined to provide further information.

Tiffin's programs are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC/NCA).

The course is already offered through Ivy Bridge College, Tiffin's associate program that allows students to attend in person or online and transfer their earned credits to four-year schools with transfer agreements. However, the standard tuition per credit at Tiffin, $690, is considerably more than the massive open online courses fee was set at.

"We apologize to those who were interested in the course and for any inconvenience our delay of this offering has caused," said Altius CEO, Paul Freedman. He added that the partnership would "continue to work through the challenges."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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